Review by Kelly Jarvis: Bane Bloom by Sharon Lynn Fisher
I have long been a fan of Sharon Lynn Fisher’s cozy Gothic fantasies (Salt & Broom, Grimm Curiosities, Tea & Alchemy) and I was thrilled to find Bane Bloom just as phenomenal! The novel begins with the mysterious diary entries of Charles Carroll, an apothecary from the London Society who has been sent to the Lake District to catalogue the specimens in Arthur Banes’ Pine Cottage. After Mr. Carroll loses his grip on reality and disappears, Catherine Gray, a young woman with an interest in botany and a talent for illustration take up his cataloguing work in exchange for becoming an apprentice apothecary. Catherine has grown up with an artist for a father, and her trip to the north may help secure their future, but when she arrives in the country and meets Thomas Bane, Arthur’s grandson and the groundskeeper for the property, Catherine’s careful plans begin to unravel. Thomas is no ordinary man, and his taciturn behavior harbors a series of dark secrets. Nevertheless, an attraction between Thomas and Catherine is undeniable, and much of the novel centers on the complexities of their growing relationship as Catherine learns the secrets of Pine Cottage.
The titular Bane Bloom, an elusive shape-shifting flower that has the power to grant your heart’s desire, is the key to the Pine Cottage mystery, and it explains the tie between Thomas and the surrounding land. Madness, folklore, superstition, and witchcraft permeate the story, and Fisher’s admiration for both benevolent (hyacinths, foxglove, and bluebells) and malevolent (hellebore, and belladonna) plants fill her sentences with luscious scent and eye-catching beauty. As always, her landscapes are meticulously researched, and I felt like I was wandering among the becks and fells as I turned each page. Bane Bloom perfectly blends a real world setting with frightening touches of fairy magic, and I delighted in learning about kelpies, nokken, and wodewose. The tone leans Gothic and explores serious themes like abandonment, loneliness, and isolation, but beneath it all is a strain of beauty and a reverence for the natural world as the village participates in celebrations to welcome the spring.
Fisher’s prose especially sings when she is exploring the relationship between Catherine and Thomas. Although the book is told primarily from Catherine’s point of view, a few chapters allow Thomas to tell his own story, and the blend of both voices helps the reader feel more invested in their courtship. The romance between Catherine and Thomas is a slow burn, but it is also quite sensual since both characters stand somewhat outside the gendered and social expectations of Victorian society. The ups and downs of their relationship will make readers swoon, and the mystery of whether they will discover their happily ever after is as intriguing as the mystery of the Bane Bloom.
If you love beautifully crafted explorations of nature, folklore, and romantic relationships, you will adore Bane Bloom! You can find it here.
Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and a Recurring Columnist for Eternal Haunted Summer. She also teachers writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her folklore inspired novella, Selkie Moon, was a semi-finalist in the 2025-2026 Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship and her Gothic historical romance, Sea and Stars, is the winner of the Literary Titan Gold Book Award. Learn more about her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/
